Guan Yu's eyelid gave an involuntary twitch.
For the very first time, he actually had to admit that his third brother's blunt judgment hit the mark. So accurately that it stung.
"After the Battle of Yiling, the spirits of Sun Wu were riding high from victory," Guan Yu said coolly. "Then Cao Pi's rash mobilization failed, which only gave them a second surge of morale. A true master of war avoids the enemy when their spirit is sharp and strikes when they are weary. If one cannot even shake the resolve of the opposing generals, how can one hope to crush the momentum of an entire army?"
Meanwhile, Liu Bei felt one thing and one thing only: deep, refreshing satisfaction.
Before this, he had always feared that A-Dou simply lacked the ability to shoulder the future.
Yet according to the Lightscreen, the failure of the next generation had far more to do with the shortage of talent in Shu Han than with the boy himself.
And then there was Cao Cao's son.
This fellow had clawed his way into power, and everyone had expected some fearsome second-generation hero, only for the result to be this?
He held hundreds of thousands of troops in the palm of his hand. Men like Liu Ye and Jia Xu stood ready at his command. Yet he brushed aside every piece of sound advice placed before him and practically delivered military glory straight into Sun Quan's hands on a silver platter.
The corners of Liu Bei's lips lifted higher and higher, to the point that hiding his smile was becoming a genuine struggle.
For one absurd moment, he even felt the urge to write Cao Cao a letter purely to gloat.
He even briefly considered whether A-Dou ought to be excused from his lessons for the night.
Sensing Zhuge Liang's knowing, faintly teasing gaze, Liu Bei quickly composed himself and cleared his throat.
"Jia Wenhe's calculations are famed for never missing the mark. What do my two Strategists think?"
Though some of the Lightscreen's phrasing was bizarre, such as that strange line about eight gold mines against two, the meaning was clear enough from the context.
The strategy resonated deeply with Zhuge Liang.
"It is a plan of true statecraft, one aimed at securing the nation and bringing peace to the people," Zhuge Liang said with measured fairness. "And the phrase focus on production and development contains profound meaning."
Pang Tong pondered for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
"Jia Wenhe plans for the state, but not for the man. His memorial says one must measure the enemy and employ the proper generals, yet counsel must also be suited to the ruler who receives it."
The meaning could not have been clearer.
What was the point of saying all this to Cao Pi? One might as well be lecturing a wall.
"With Cao Pi's level of intellect," Pang Tong said dryly, "the Advisor would have done better to simply tell him to station elite troops at Xiangyang-Fancheng and let the local generals wait for an opening. Anything more complicated would only waste breath."
[Lightscreen]
[From Cao Pi's perspective, his reasons for invading Sun Wu had always seemed perfectly justified, and that justification was Liu Bei.
After the defeat at Yiling, Liu Bei took root at Baidicheng rather than returning to Chengdu. The reason was not particularly complicated: a crushing defeat inevitably stirred unrest among the people, and Liu Bei's resilience had always been extraordinary. He needed to remain at Baidicheng to organize defenses, rally the surviving troops, and steady the hearts of the people. He even renamed Baidicheng as Yongan, Everlasting Peace.
According to the Records of Wu, Liu Bei had in fact been preparing a counter-offensive.
Liu Bei's character would never have allowed him to retreat into the safety of Chengdu. He was a living banner, and that banner had to stand at the front lines. It was truly a moment of the Son of Heaven guarding the gateway.
But at the beginning of the following year, his health took a sharp turn for the worse.
Perhaps sensing the approach of the end, he summoned Kongming and Li Yan to receive his final testament. He instructed Liu Shan to treat Kongming as he would his own father and left behind those immortal words: Do not fail to do good because the deed is small; do not commit evil because the sin is minor.
In the sixth month, the old warrior Liu Xuande, a man who had spent his entire life moving from one battlefield to another, who had suffered countless defeats yet never once surrendered his spirit, passed away in Yongan Palace.
He was 63 years old and was given the posthumous title Emperor Zhaolie.
Cao Cao called him a hero. Zhou Yu called him a formidable hegemon. Zhuge Liang believed his talent unmatched in the world, while the historian Chen Shou saw in him the spirit of the Great Ancestor, Liu Bang.
The man who gave the Three Kingdoms its soul had labored long enough. At last, it was time for him to rest beside his second and third brothers. One cannot help but wonder: in the peach garden of his memories, were the blossoms still in full bloom?]
"Big Brother!"
Zhang Fei was already a complete mess, tears streaming down his face.
The two brothers had seen fragments of the deathbed testament before, but witnessing the entire account unfold from beginning to end carried an entirely different weight.
"Big Brother..."
Guan Yu's eyes were red-rimmed. "This time, I will remain by your side until the very end."
Zhang Fei looked up, face drenched with tears.
"And I am with you too. Always."
Pang Tong, meanwhile, felt a faint sting of professional frustration at the future's lavish praise for Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.
"Kongming," he said, unable to help himself, "did you truly see this unparalleled talent all the way back in Nanyang?"
Zhuge Liang said nothing for a long while before answering softly.
"Shiyuan, that has always been our greatest disagreement. I have always believed that the Han must be restored. Lord Liu merely made me realize that I was not walking that road alone."
Pang Tong went still.
Zhuge Liang had told him that the Lightscreen came from a world 1,800 years in the future, a span of time so vast it was almost impossible to imagine.
Yet hearing the reverent tone with which that distant voice spoke of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang stirred something fierce within him.
This time, Fengchu would not die young.
He would contend with Kongming and see who could restore the Han better.
He wanted the future to speak of Pang Tong not in terms of what if, but with the same respect it afforded his lord and his rival.
Mi Zhu, however, was drowning in self-reproach.
The map displayed on the screen was simple enough for anyone to understand. The importance of Jiangling was impossible to miss.
And now even Cao Pi had failed because of those very walls.
"If only Jiangling had not been lost..."
Jian Yong immediately cut him off, his tone light and easy as he sensed his friend spiraling.
"Zizhong, why torment yourself? In the eyes of that Lightscreen, the loss of Jiangling happened nearly 2,000 years ago. It is ancient history, little more than conversation for later generations."
He smiled and continued.
"But for us? Jiangling is firmly in our lord's hands. Yunchang is still strengthening those walls. Fu Shiren has already been sent to the naval forces to toughen him up, and Mi Fang is locked safely at home where he can cause no trouble. What exactly is there to worry about?"
Jian Yong's expression softened.
"Even with the disaster Mi Fang caused in that timeline, our lord never once blamed you on that screen. Why carry this guilt?"
Mi Zhu lowered his head.
"I just... seeing my lord die with such regret... if not for Mi Fang's betrayal, would it truly have ended that way?"
"What does that have to do with you now?"
Jian Yong flicked Mi Zhu lightly on the forehead.
"I already told you, that past is gone. Instead of drowning in shame, you would do better to run a few more errands for our lord."
Mi Zhu nodded slowly.
[Lightscreen]
[The year after Liu Bei's passing, under Prime Minister Kongming's leadership, the Shu Han-Wu alliance was restored.
Cao Pi, predictably, lost his mind once again.
After the failed invasion following Yiling, Sun Quan had sent envoys bearing tribute and seeking peace, simply so he could finally sleep soundly at night. Cao Pi withdrew his forces only after his pride had been sufficiently soothed. But because Shu Han and Cao Wei were mortal enemies, Sun Wu's renewed friendship with Shu Han was seen as a second betrayal.
Cao Pi felt as if he had been slapped across the face twice. Furious, he went to Jia Xu seeking a strategy, hoping for fuel for his rage. Instead, he was met with a face full of verbal scorn. His fury only intensified, leading directly to the second invasion of Wu.
From Jia Xu's perspective, it was a disastrous moment for war. While Cao Pi lacked military brilliance, he excelled at turning the blade inward. The mass executions following the Wei Feng rebellion, as well as his suppression of his brothers Cao Zhi and Cao Zhang, had left a dangerous undercurrent within the Cao Wei court.
Furthermore, in the seventh month, just as Sun Wu was celebrating its victory, a locust plague struck Hebei, affecting 100,000 households.
Cao Pi then produced what he no doubt considered a brilliant idea: Move them all to Henan and make them farm.
The ministers were nearly frightened to death. Xin Pi and the others argued until their throats were dry, even grabbing Cao Pi's sleeves to keep him from leaving, until he finally relented a little and agreed to relocate only 50,000 households.
But who was to provide food and transport for 50,000 refugees? Certainly not Cao Pi.
The Weilüe records that the local officials in Chenggao County simply hid when starving refugees came begging for grain, because not a single grain remained.
This forced migration plunged the North into widespread instability. It offers a remarkably clear window into Cao Pi's character, and no wonder Jia Xu found him impossible to reason with.
And with that, we have more or less covered the aftermath of the Battle of Yiling. Cao Pi is actually quite a fascinating figure in his own right.
When time permits, we will do a special segment comparing the second-generation rulers of the Three Kingdoms.
Up next:
The Collapse of Shu? Watch the Prime Minister Work His Magic!]